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Monday, March 21, 2016

Happy extremely belated 2016! It's been a while hasn't it? I'm still eating everywhere but work and personal commitments have been taking over my life these days to commit to writing. Thanks to those who have encouraged me to keep on going even if it may not be as regular as it used to.

Recently, we attended a birthday dinner at Ayam Goreng 99 in Kingsford. Personally, I don't go out that direction as much as I would have liked to so it was an experience checking out the area for the first time. It was located minutes away from UNSW, which would have been perfect had I studied there. Unfortunately, most of us were UTS students...heh. Ayam Goreng 99 was definitely one of those old school restaurants that would have been around for a long time judging from the decor. If the massive crowds waiting outside are anything to go by, the food was certainly worth the wait.

Ayam Bakar - Charcoal Grilled Marinated Chicken ($6.50 per piece)

There was 11 of us, so we ordered all three versions of their signature marinated chicken - thigh and breast! My personal favourite was the charcoal grilled version. It may look charred and rustic on the outside but the chicken itself was juicy, flavoursome and tender. Also had a slight sweet and zesty tang from the marinated soy sauce coating.

Ayam Goreng - Deep Fried Marinated Chicken ($6.50 per piece)

Didn't get to try this one but the friends enjoyed its crispy texture. Portions were generous but the lack of knife meant it was harder to cut and share bit by bit...at least for us.

I did get to try the Javanese version which was sweeter than the deep fried variant. Compared to the grilled version, I thought it seemed to be on the dry side but it was still tasty and flavoursome especially with its smoked, crispy skin.

Nasi Goreng ($11.50)

Consisting of fried rice with chicken, egg, meats and shallots, the nasi goreng was another highlight for me. Digged the colourful layout as well the balanced texture of the rice which made it easier to enjoy with a mix of different ingredients. We also ordered and shared a vegetarian version of the Nasi Goreng, which was equally tasty.

Sate Kambing - Lamb Satay ($10.00)

Most of us like our lamb and we already order too much chicken so we had lamb satay sticks on the side. If lamb ain't your thing, you will be pleased to know that it didn't have that gamey taste mainly thanks to its generous mix of sweet soy sauce and peanut sauce coated over the skewers. Didn't order enough of these so some of us had to share these sticks.

In the end, the bill cost us around $25 per head, which wasn't as bad as we expected (we ordered a couple other dishes but forgot to take a snap). Service was fast paced and we ended up getting full too quickly despite being too hungry waiting for a table. While Kingsford may be out of the way for me to go back regularly, you can definitely see the appeal on why Ayam Goreng remains popular with the locals for all these years. Hope to return again to do a proper taste of the Ayam Goreng or even get my hands again on the succulent Ayam Bakar.